I just received the June/July issue of Internet Genealogy. One of the first sections I go to in each issue is “Net Notes.” It’s a series of short pieces covering recent website activity that may be of interest to readers. The first entry describes some online releases from the Library and Archives Canada (LAC). I have a special interest in Canadian genealogy so I took a closer look — and came to an unexpected halt. One of the entries cites LAC’s release of a database consisting entirely of immigrants from the Ukraine (1890-1930) arriving in Canadian and American ports. I had just put together a list on Ukrainian genealogical resources for several patrons who needed help on this topic. This entry gave me another resource to add to my list that might help break down some of their brick walls. If it hadn’t been for this article, I might never have found this little gem.

Flipping through genealogy magazines can not only help to keep you up to date, but can unearth treasure you’d never find otherwise. Perhaps some of the following might help you. Do you have ancestors in the American colonies during the Revolution or in the United States during the War of 1812? The Canadian piece also includes references to databases on the War of 1812, and to the Book of Negroes (with 3,000 names of Black Loyalists who fled the Port of New York at the end of the Revolutionary War). It concludes with another database consisting of the recently digitized list of Loyalists and British Soldiers (for the period 1772-1784) from the Carleton Papers.

Other articles in this issue center around saving family stories. One describes what can be done with FamilySearch.org’s Memories section, which is devoted to researching and preserving family stories. Then there are related pieces, “Stellar Storytelling Apps” and “Recording Family Interviews with Audacity.”

British genealogy is represented with two articles. One lists seven websites relating specifically to the Victorian era. The second highlights three free UK websites run by volunteers.

The magazine rounds off with articles on “Researching the Great Depression,” “Supreme Court Cases and Your Family History,” and a review of Yale’s Photogrammar Project that digitizes photographs of the 1930s and 1940s and makes them available online. There are also the monthly features “The Back Page,” “Genealogical Society Announcements,” and additional short pieces in the Net Notes already mentioned.

Perhaps I now have you curious, but frustrated because you don’t subscribe to the magazine. Not to worry. The Newton Free Library does. Pay us a visit. You can find this and other genealogy magazines just to the right as you enter the Special Collections Room on the first floor. Take a few minutes to see what’s there. Here there be discoveries to be made, brick walls to be dismantled, and gold to be found.

The National Geographic Channel has aired a program this past Sunday night that should appeal to genealogists with an interest in photographs — and who of us aren’t fascinated by old photographs. The program shows how the owner of this photograph goes about trying to authenticate it.

What is the photo made of? What process was used? Were these materials and processes available during the period in question?

Who is in the picture? Advanced facial recognition is used on the people in the photo.

When was it taken?

Where was it taken? Can the place be located today?

Why would these particular people be in this particular place at this particular time.

What is the story behind the photograph? It’s quite a story.

If this photo can be authenticated, it will be only the second known photograph of Billy the Kid and the only know photograph of him with other people. Interested? The two hour documentary is being re-aired on Friday, October 23rd on the National Geographic Channel at 9:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

Below is a a section of the full photograph.

Tin Type Full 9Kx12K b, 12/20/13, 12:37 PM, 8C, 9000×12000 (0+0), 150%, Custom, 1/40 s, R106.2, G84.2, B103.2 SAN FRANCISCO ñ October 5, 2015 ñ Western Americana and Rare Coin experts, Kaginís, Inc., announced that the firm has authenticated and will be the exclusive seller of a newly discovered photograph featuring several of the Lincoln County Regulators, including legendary gunman, Billy the Kid. The photograph was purchased for $2 as a part of a miscellaneous lot at a Fresno junk shop in 2010, and will be the subject of a two-hour documentary airing Sunday, October 18th at 9/8c on National Geographic Channel. ìI love handling great treasure finds!î exclaimed Dr. Donald Kagin, president of Kaginís, Inc. ìThis iconic, lively and fun artifact is history in your handóa snapshot of the life style of one of the most notorious figures of the Wild West.î

Please notice that this piece was originally published on 13 December 2011. All of the links have just been updated as of 11 December 2013.

Digital Newton first went online on October 1st of this year. Materials you could only see if you came to the Newton Free Library, you can now look at from any Internet connected computer anywhere in the world. Materials you can view include city directories (1868- 1934), Assessed Polls (voting lists from 1884 to 1942), , early photographs and albums including the Newell Family Album, trade cards, information and photos of the Jersey Stock Club and the Hunnewell Club, High School Yearbooks from 1885, 1890, 1895, and 1900, as well as early books and historic maps. Click Digital Newton to discover all the treasures. You might even find an ancestor. And please feel free to leave a response to the material included here. There is a link for your comment in each section

Digital Newton is in a format known as a LibGuide. To go from section to section, click one of the tabs of interest near the top of the page. Some, such as the “Images of Historic Newton” tab, will have drop down menus to get you into a number of albums and collections. I chose just one above, the Newell Family Album. Don’t miss the others. They are well worth the time. You can get lost in another time looking at these photos and books.

This is an ongoing project. Please note that the photos themselves are not, for the most part, links to anything else. There is one exception. [Note that the following is no longer the case. More photos of the Villages have been added. Click on this link Villages of Newton Photographs as of 11 December 2013.] On the first page you will see a link to Newton Corner/Nonantum. When you click on any one of the photos in this set, you will get additional information about the photo you are viewing. Consider this a preview of coming attractions.

During the month of December, the Newton Free Library is also hosting an exhibit with objects based on, but not limited to, Digital Newton. If you are in the area, drop by and take a look. Featured are an overview of the project with reproductions of maps and trade cards, as well as “Mayor Warren Then (1907) and Mayor Warren Now (2011)” and various three dimensional objects that will take you to another era. Check out the doll and the child’s drinking cup. Below the photos of the two Mayor Warren’s are samples of items you might typically find in each man’s pocket. A great deal of imagination and historical knowledge went into this display. The picture above depicts only one small section of it.

You will find this material in the three first floor display cases. Just park in our lot and walk in the side entrance over the bridge. You will find the cases on your right. Click Newton Free Libraryfor hours and directions.

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The Newton Genealogy Club

The Genealogy Club meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm in the Special Collections Room of the Newton Free Library. Special Collections is on the first floor to your left as you are walking to the back of the library.

The club meets to share information on records and approaches for starting or extending participants’ genealogical research. Novices and experienced researchers are both welcome and encouraged to bring records and problems from their own research for discussion.

The coordinator of the club is Ginny Audet. Contact by email: NewtonGenealogyClub@gmail.com.